Winter
by smokahontas-007
Summary: Yuki has a normal life. Well, had. Al and Ed have been her friends forever. She has also been working for the allies for the past 5 years. Obviously, something has to go wrong. The Elrics have found something they weren't supposed to, there's some crazy lady trying to kill her, and there is a 6% chance that her long lost father is still alive. Well, this should be interesting.
1. The darkest night and brightest day

**MY FIRST CHAPTER EVERYBODY!i know it's kinda short but there will be ore.. i promise you that it will blow. your. mind. soon. anyway, please review! review! review! i'd love to see what youguys have to think about this! **

**ENJOY!  
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** ~Yuki~**

The clouds have been here for months now, yet it's barely starting to rain. It melts everything in sight. I stand and watch from safely under my tree, as the rain slowly turns my beautiful garden to mush.

A man approaches me in the rain. For some strange reason, he is amazing to me. He is wearing a long trench coat with a hat, and a suit under his coat. "Hello, Yuki, it's been a long time," he said, with a soft expression and soothing voice. Strange. He has the same pale white skin, deep brown hair, and emerald eyes as I do, yet I can't nail who he is. Who is this guy? "Do you remember? We used to have so much fun together, you and me, my little snowflake," he said calmly. _'Little snowflake'_?why does that seem familiar to me ? Suddenly, it hit me, straight in the face. "Father!?" As soon as I said something, there was a flash of light, then, he was gone, leaving alone in the rain,with my melting garden.

I awoke with a searing pain in my left ankle. "What? Oh, oh yea…" I looked down at my feet with a sigh. Sure enough, there was a cast there. Now i remembered, I had slipped on the stairs yesterday while going to work, and fractured my , was it yesterday? The day before? Oh, whatever, I cant remember right now. I feel limp, and sick to my stomach. "Hey, how you feelin'?, said a familiar voice that I vaguely recognized. I turned in my bed, I didn't even notice his presence. It was Alfred. I sighed, relieved, somehow, that it was him,. "Well,well,what a surprise, its America the hero, come to visit me." "Yeah, I have, actually.." he said "After all, it was my fault you broke your ankle." He added"No it wasn-oh yeah…" I remembered now. I was running down the stairs to tell Ed some important news from central that had to get to him immediately. I noticed Alfred waling to the foot of the stairs. He said "Sup Yuki! Hey, you know where I can find a-wha!" He was so loud, that he stopped my concentration, and I had slipped ion a small pool of water that I had been wanting to avoid. (The janitor had just finished mopping) Come to think of it, I guess I'm more clumsy than I thought…

_Snow.. it's so amazing. I'm standing in piles of it. I look around. I'm in my absolute favorite place, the forest. The evergreens are lightly frosted with snow, There is life in this forest. I used to come here as a little girl, mostly in the winter, or fall, when there was snow. Even though most of the forest animals were in hibernation, I had always seen the forest as one, where I could relax from a frustrating day, or the hustle and bustle of the city. I breathe in some cold, air, and the cold sensation fills my mouth and nostrils. I turn to the side . I see a figure running towards me. it seemed like a dog. It got closer. It started to look like a wolf. I knew I had to run, food for gray wolves are usually scarce this time of year, and I didn't want to become wolf lunch. I tried to run, but my stupid legs wouldn't move, I attempted to force myself to run, but I ended up falling back sitting, facing the charging figure. I couldn't help but stare at the wolf, no, a whole wolf pack, run at me . Awesome. Just great. No other way to start my day then to become wolf meat. They're getting closer. 30 yards, 10 yards, 20 feet, so close… They were all charging at me full speed. Here we go. I close my eyes, and wait. Nothing., Shouldn't I be dead by now? I thought. I slowly open my eyes, and was forced to conceal a yelp, because there was a pack of wolves, standing before me. Most of the pack had black and gray fur, and I watched them as the organize themselves in a small circle around me, except for one wolf, however, this one was different than all the rest. It had crisp white fur, almost as white as the snow surrounding us, its ears and most of its head was black, and also had some brown-black spots on its paws. A beautiful creature. It seemed strangely familiar to me. But the thing that bothered me the most, was that it had bright emerald eyes, just like my father._

** ~Al~**

We were all standing at the train station, where it dropped us off, in America. "Brother, how are we going to explain this to Yuki?" I asked. "Don't worry, Al, we'll come up with something to tell her, I don't want her to get caught up in this mess." he added. There was a moment of silence. All three of us were still stunned from what we had found out in central. "Ed, what, and who we saw in central, is it, really who we thought it was?" asked Winry. I tried hard to think on the bright side of all of this, while at the same time, putting it all together. What does this mean? I lost my train of thought while Ed replied to Winry's question. "From what I know, most likely. If word gets out that both of them are still alive, it will cause chaos. "I tried not to become frightened of the idea that Yuki could be put in danger because of this. "Brother, were going to help her, no matter what it takes" I said. He replied, "Yea, we will." Hmm,I thought, satisfied with what we had agreed on, I only hoped that we could keep that promise.

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**I told you it was short. But do not prevail! More is definitely along the way!**


	2. The red stone

Hey you guys! I finally edited the second chapter, I had so many freaking ides popping into my head, I started to freak out, but no worry, I got this! Oh yea, and a couple of characters are introduced in this chapter, and there are some of Yuki's awesome memories that will be revealed.. ~well, enjoy!~

Warning: mild language, violence

Disclaimer: I do not own hetalia, or FMA, sadly

Chapter 2: the red stone

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~11 years ago, Italian countryside~

I sat out on the porch of our house, looking out at the edge of the woods, not too far from the white picket fence surrounding our property. I sat, in the handcrafted oak wood rocking chair that my grandfather had made for me, all the way from was beautiful, and I adored it, and my grandfather as well. "yuki, my little snowflake, why don't you jon your mother and I in a game of chess?" I heard my father call from the doorway, snapping me out of it. "okay, daddy," I agreed as I started to follow him inside, but stopped at the door, looking back at the woods. I was only seven years old at the time, yet I sensed something, or someone, staring straight at me, from behind the thick foliage and tree branches. I ignored the tingle in my spine, and ran to my fathers side, as the three of us, my parents and I, peacefully played a game of chess, what grew to be my favorite board game, and I became a master at it, over the years of course. At seven, I didn't even know the rules, but hey, I liked the shape of the pawns, and who can blame me?

As we played, my parents seemed to be having a rather strange conversation. I listened in as my father loudly whispered into my mothers ear."norah, do you think?that they would…" his voice trailed off. What were they talking about? I had to know." Mommy, daddy, what are you talking about? Who is they?" I asked curiously. My mother looked at me, and her face turned immediately from serious to warm and welcoming. I had always loved that about her."hmm, nothing sweety, your father and I just have a lot on our minds right now, but theres nothing to worry about, okay?" "nn," I hummed, as I nodded my head. My mother was amazingly beautiful. She had long flowing brown locks that reached all the way down to her lower back, fair , slightly tanned skin, and twinkling brown eyes that could melt you with their warmth. My father had pale skin, dark black hair, and intense emerald-green eyes. I had inherited most of my father's characteristics, and my mother's hair. Both of my parents grew up in italy, my mother originated from spain, and my father had come from Britain. I had gotten my nickname, 'little snowflake' because of my incredibly snow white pale skin. I loved both my parents so dearly, and they loved me back equally.

Eventually, that day turned into another night, and all I could remember at the time was the three of us, lying out in the spring meadow, gazing up at the stars, and I had fallen asleep. Even so, I could feel the warmth of my mother and father as they carried me to my bed, and tucked me in.

I had suddenly woken with a jolt. For some reason, I was frightened. There was a banging sound, then a strange growl, coming from downstairs. My mother came to my side to wake me completely." Yuki, you have to get out of here she said with a rushed tone. Having almost no idea what was going on, I quickly got dressed, and followed her out the door and into the mother told me to be completely silent, no matter what. I tried as hard as I could , feeling cold sweat forming on my palms. As we made our way through the house, I saw it, and completely froze.

The dark figure was standing in our arched doorway. It was a wolf like creature, messy black fur, gleaming blood-red eyes,it stood around six and a half to seven feet tall,and was growling angrily at us, pouring fear into our hearts.I hid behind my mother, as we both quivered with fear, but she showed strength, as she stood up to the was always so brave, willing to stand up to anything that would harm her loved ones. Scared out of my life, I looked for something to distract me. I soon noticed something red, shining in the night, around the animal's neck. It looked like a necklace, an oval-sized red stone, about the size of an egg, and the longer I stared at it, it seemed to have a strange glow... But I had to look away when I noticed that the thing was about to pounce on us. A sudden blasting sound popped my eardrums.I tuned to the source, as I saw my father, holding a shotgun in his hands, breathing heavily. The creature lied there, seemingly dead.I sighed with enormous relief. Finally, it was all over.

I could never have been more wrong.

The bullet had only slowed it down. I stood there, unable to move,in disbelief, as it rose, unharmed. It leaped, ready to pounce, but this time, my father as completely unprepared.I screamed, as my mother had pushed me aside. I stood there, watching the last of my mother, as she ripped the stone from the beast's neck. The beast was even more infuriated, without the stone around its neck. Without thinking, I snatched the necklace that had fallen on the floor, and ran to my father's side, the pendant in my hand, my eyes stinging with tears, and the frightening smell of blood in the air. Almost immediately , it came running after us, seeming to have wanting to retrieve the stone. Now, giant tears were flowing down my face, thinking of what will be of my father and I, and seeing my mother, lying on the floor, motionless, a pool of blood growing at her body.

Trying to calm me down, he looked straight at me, after he saw what had happened to my mother, I noticed a few tears running down his face. He then gently whispered into my ear, loud enough so that I could hear, and said, "Yuki, everything will be alright, okay?" I nodded. Suddenly, everything around me, except my father and I slowed down, as he said to me,"You have to leave now, my little snowflake," "But Daddy, what about you-" "Shhhh, I'll be fine, Daddy will be just fine, okay? Now you need to promise me that you will stay alive, okay? No matter what, just run, you need to get out of here, now! Go!"

I ran, attempting to avoid any attacks from the beast as it charged at me, spilling anger from its eyes. My father was trying to slow it down and distract it as much as he possibly could, but it seemed completely focused on the stone in my finally managed to pull its attention from me, by throwing rocks at it. Now mad with my father, it ran towards him, I didn't want to see the rest of that scene, so I ran out of the now demolished family room, and found myself just outside of our house, in the starry night. I looked around. Our home was very isolated from town, you see, as no one trusted to live near the woods, mostly because of German soldiers hiding there, or dangerous wild animals. Thinking of the best possible refuge besides grass, I sprinted towards the large forest, the safest place I knew besides my home.

As I ran, tripping over rocks and tree roots, the moon's light not reaching through the evergreen branches, I thought how I was going to survive. I had absolutely no sign of relatives in Italy, or what had happened to my parents, who were most likely dead. I tried to blink the tears mixed with blood from my eyes, and the mud and blood stains on my clothes and face. Soon enough, I was winded and on the point of blacking out. To top it off, I had tripped on a tree root, and hit my head on a rock. I forced myself to stand, losing a good amount of my blood, and seeing triple.

My knees buckled, and I finally fell under consciousness.

** ~Yuki~**

White light shined brightly in my face."Yuki!Yuki! hello?!"A voice had said in the distance. I felt a shaking sensation. "Hey Yuki! Wake up! Wake up!" "Ugh.. yea, I'm up, I'm up..." I grumbled. I turned to my human alarm clock. Alfred was looming over me, staring at me with a concentrated look on his face. "You fell asleep again!" he said as he sat back in his chair. " I heard you screaming too, and mumbling stuff, like 'the stone' and 'I'll keep my promise' and stuff..." It was only until he mentioned it that I had remembered what I was dreaming about, and noticed the cold sweat all over my body. "What were you dreaming about, anyway?"he questioned. "Oh, it was, it was nothing, not anything you have to worry about,at least"I shivered at the thought of the memory, and clutched the red stone hanging around my neck. 'So, you've been really sleepy lately, and I wonder why..." he said. " Well,it's probably because I have a broken ankle, and you've been loading me with so much paperwork lately, that I've had to skip some sleep!" I exclaimed. Flinching at my anger, Alfred cautiously said,"O-Okay, so you want some tea?" I sighed. "Sure," I watched as he poured Earl Grey tea into a first class tea set.

"Where'd you get such a fancy tea set?" I asked. " Oh, this baby? Arthur let me borrow it, since you like tea and stuff, I decided to ask him for it, and he also sent some scones,as a get well gift," he said. "Hmm, 'borrowed' it, huh?" I said, doubting that he had actually borrowed it, especially from Arthur, as my hand flew immediately to the scones, untouched, beside the tea. "How could you like that stuff?!" Alfred yelped, surprised at my satisfied face as I took more and more bites out of it. Honestly, I think it's because British runs in my blood or something of the sort, because everyone else says that they're terrible, but to me, they're not half bad.

"Well, here's your tea," he said while cautiously bringing it over to me."Thanks,"I said. I thought of my nightmare . I shortly gasped, just the thought of it... I tried to ignore the thought as I took small sips of my tea. Earl Grey tea is my absolute favorite tea, ever since i was little. Man, I really miss how it tasted,when my mom used to make it. Almost nothing compared to it. Even so, this cup of tea was pretty good.

I liked this moment. Sipping tea, calmly and quietly, and eating scones. I wish it could last forever. I looked out the window. It was an amazing view. All the trees that were a bright green in the summer and spring had turned to intense colors like a fiery red, stunning orange, and a mix of burgundy and brown in other trees. I had always liked the place where i worked, with the allies. I don't know why, but Alfred's mansion had always given off a kind manner to me.

Alfred purposely dropped a three-pound book on the floor to snap me out of la-la land. He shook his head in disappointment, "Why does your boyfriend never seem to give you the right gifts?I could say that he totally could've done much better that this..." he said as he held up my red stone necklace in the air.

MY NECKLACE!

"Hey! You give that back right now, that's mine!"That bastard, I was too busy daydreaming, that i didn't even notice him robbing me, I guess that proves i'm a huge airhead...He just stood there, laughing as he triumphantly held it in the air like a first place prize. "Hahaha, well, it looks like the hero did it again,"He smirked.

"Oh, well then, i guess there's no need to talk about it," I tried as hard as I could not to start cracking up as he realized that i had snatched it from him, as he was gloating about his new bounty. "What?! Impossible!" he said with some sight disbelief in his voice, if my ears don't deceive me. But then, he relaxed, as he said," well then, I suppose you're not such a bad thief after all," "Well, obviously," I said. Well that was a dumb thing to say, i had been an expert at thieving since i was ten.

"Well then, it's been fun, but I gotta go, chief. There is a very important matter I must discuss with the Elrics.." he said, as he started to gather his things. "They said they would come to check up on you later, oh, and there are some, other visitors waiting to come in," he said with a smirk. He left out the door, without another word. A while after he left, I couldn't help but wonder what he meant by 'other' visitors.. Whatever, I just hope it's not-

"Hey, Yuki!" said an all too familiar voice as Arthur Kirkland walked through my bedroom door, without even knocking.. How rude. But my mood immediately changed when I saw the chess board in his hands. "I see your awake, now, how are you feeling?" He asked kindly. " I'm much better that before, at least,"I replied with a soft smile on my lips."That's good,would you like to join me?" he asked, as he pointed out the rather large rectangular board game."I'll take you on any day" I said, expecting said answer, "Is that a challenge?"

So far, out of the three games we've played, i had won two. I wasn't doing too bad, Arthur was a little wiser that i was, but he had nearly no chance against me, if it wasn't for that brain of his. I'm not saying i'm better than him, it's just that I do stand taller that him, in experience.

"Ha! Check mate, my friend!" I said in triumph, as he looked at me in disbelief. "Well, you just got lucky, again." he grumbled. "Yea, i guess so, i'm just too good at getting lucky al the time, aren't I?" I said, just stared at me blankly. Apparently, he didn't get the joke. We were both sitting there, at the sitting area, near the fireplace. I faintly heard something. It was like steps, marching up the stairs, and fast. "Do you hear that?" I asked Arthur, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy, or anything. He took a moment to concentrate."Yuki,i can't hear anything...what are you talking about?" "It's getting louder," I said, as i could now hear the footsteps, loud and clear, that i knew exactly who it was, and i held my breath.

"Surprise!" yelled Edward as he, Alphonse, and Winry suddenly burst through the door, almost giving Arthur a heart-attack, but I merely looked up from the game, as I greeted the three of them."Oh, hey you guys. What are you doing here?"I asked, trying to keep my anger contained.

"Well, we were about to board the train to central, and Winry forgot her toolbox, so we had to go back, and while we were here, we heard that you went all crazy, and you broke your ankle, so now,we've come to visit you." I focused on his facial expression, and noticed something." Well first of all, I did not go all crazy like you said, and second of all, "I directed this to Winry,"Winry, do you really need your toolbox 'that' badly?"I asked, suspiciously." Well, yes. If these two wouldn't keep getting themselves into such a mess, I wouldn't need it, but unfortunately,they can't help it..."she answered.

This proves my point.

** ~Al~**

"Hmph," Yuki smiled,seeming victourious in something. "What? What's the matter?"asked Arthur, who had somehow recovered from the state of shock that he was in because of our surprise visit. "Yes, i'm pretty sure i'm right, and it won't be possible to be wrong either..." Yuki was thinking out loud now.

I looked at brother, who had a nervous look on his face. I gasped. Could it be? Is it even possible? No.. No..

"Hmph. They're lying." She stated. All three of us were in shock. "What- but..." Ed stammered. "Yes, I figured it out, after all, it was a pretty bad lie," Yuki smirked. "Well then, how can you prove it?" Asked Ed, testing her, if she really knew that we were lying, or if she was just pulling our leg. She replied confidently," Well, I know you like the back of my hand, and you, Ed, couldn't look at me while you were talking to me, Al didn't say a word, and he was just facing the floor. And Winry had a strange worried look on her face, as if she had committed crime or something." As scared as I was to admit it,she was right. she saw right trough the lie that Alfred had told us to say.

She continued, as everyone else in the room was frozen," So, what kind of secret were you hiding that I wouldn't want to hear about?"

This was it. We obviously had to tell her, or she would force it out of us, and both Ed and I knew that wasn't a fun path to chose... We had to say something. Something that could get her off our backs for now and give us enough time to go and tell Alfred what had happened. "Brother..." I said to him as we looked at each other, and both understood what we had to do. Yuki was still sitting there, waiting for an answer. Ed let Winry know what we were going to do, and soon, we all agreed that it was the best thing to do.

All three of us jolted out of the room, and ran as fast as we could, before she could catch up to us. Even with a broken ankle, we knew Yuki can be capable of almost anything."RUUUN!" yelled Ed, as we were scared that she and Arthur would be right behind us at any second.

"HEY! COME BACK! We heard Yuki yell, still in the room, unprepared for what we had just pulled off.

"Are we crazy?!" said Winry, who was starting to panic already. "Brother, where exactly are we going?" I asked. He replied, as we made our way through the halls and rooms of the giant mansion," I don't know! Let's find Alfred, I bet he'll know what to do!" Aww man, were dead...

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** Yea, that was chapter 2 for you. wasn't it good! i liked the part at the beginning, with her flashback and stuff. let me know which part was your guys' fav in the reviews, okay? CHAPTER 3 COMING SOON!**


	3. Tomatoes, Wolves, and Secret Missions

**HELOOO AGAIN!**

**Well, its nice to see all your exciting faces today :)**

**yet again, i have delivered this beautiful chapter to you all so you can actually deal with your boring lives... **

**ANYWAY, enjoy!**

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**~Alicia's POV~**

I sat on the bricks of the Italian church tower, looking down at the growing crowd. I sighed. "I don't see how we are going to catch our target here," I mumbled to myself. We had a mission to complete, but it wasn't going too well. I just feel like this is a waste of my time…

I looked out at the vast forest to my left. It was amazing. The tall sequoias and evergreens stood tall and proud, in the bitter fall cold. I admired it for its parent-like protection. I lay back, staring up at the dark sky, littered with gray clouds, threatening to rain on us at any moment. It was around the end of September, and the rainy season was starting already.

I yawned lazily as I sat back up. 'I must be working too late into the night, because I only got two hours of sleep last night…'I thought to myself. I checked my watch. It was only nine o clock in the morning. "Hmm, I guess it's pretty early in the day…" I said to myself as I twirled my brown locks in between my fingers. It was a very bad habit of mine, but I guess I didn't really care.

I looked up at the frowning sky once more, and decided that I didn't want to get soaked in the rain today, so I stood and made my way down the tower. Not by stairs, though. I don't like to take the stairs, so I carefully made my way down the various bricks and shapes of the bell tower. Once I finally made it to the ground, I got some stares from a few people. I wouldn't blame them though, seeing me jump down from the side of a building, who wouldn't?

I didn't really pay much attention to them, as I dusted myself off. I really wasn't that odd looking, actually. At least I hoped I wasn't. I was wearing a forest-green military suit, witch fit me rather loosely, and my favorite combat boots. My dark brown hair was let down in large curls, and stretched to my mid-back. I was wearing my most valuable treasures; my silver dagger, hanging at my waist, and around my neck, bound to the platinum chain, was a large wolf fang.

I guess it wasn't much, but I'm not the kind of person to carry too many things around with me. When they sent me off to live with; well, I guess I could call them my second family. Apparently, when they had their second child, I couldn't be around the newborn, I was too much to handle. I remembered I used to have something that meant the world to me, the fiery red necklace that used to hang around my neck, and I had lost it. I can't remember how, but I have strange memories about it. My past that frightened me and sent shivers down my spine. I turned pale as I thought about it more deeply.

I was brought back to my senses when I felt a huge tomato make contact with the side of my head, and knocked me to the ground.

"Ow!" I grumbled as I sat up from the floor, looking for the culprit who had now left the word 'tomato' ringing in my head.

Then I found him.

Well, both of them, actually. I felt my patience slowly slipping away as Antonio and Lovino approached me. Apparently it was national tomato-throwing day, because Antonio was carrying a whole crate full of tomatoes, and was flinging them at random people, with a smile on his face. How creepy is that? You could see red stains against his crisp-white button-up shirt, obviously from previous tomato hits. Lovino was trying to avoid as many as he possibly could, but there was still a few stains on his face and sky blue shirt.

"Why you little-" before I could finish my growling, Antonio gave me the 'I wanna go hug you after I attacked you with a tomato' look, as he dropped the tomato crate, and came running towards me. His chest soon muffled my cursing, as he attacked me with a huge bear hug, and he was crushing my body. " Hey, Alicia! How are you doing?' I felt a hand move to my head, as he wiped the mushy tomato from my hair. I heard him say something else, but I could vaguely hear him now, as he was crushing my trachea, and I was about to pass out. He loosened the hug a little, and as my breathing regulated, I noticed Antonio's hand resting on my butt. What the hell?! How did that get there?! I pushed myself away from him, as he was frowning. "What?" I asked.

"Well, it's just that…" he stammered over his words. "What is it?" I was curious. "Well… well, your butt is so small, and it's not pleasurable at all!" he suddenly bursted out, his expression was sad, and even slightly teary. "There's nothing there!" I sighed. He is such a drama queen…he is always so passionate about everything, but it's obvious, I mean, he is a Spaniard.

I quickly snapped myself out of this admiring state for him, and immediately objected." My butt is not that small! And it's not my fault I wasn't born with it! She was!" I exclaimed. We all froze, stunned from my volume for a second. I really felt like I had said something that I really shouldn't have…

"Alicia, what do you mean by 'she was born with it?" Lovino asked, clearly interested in the subject. My face was flushed from all its color, as he continued. " Is there something you haven't told us, Alicia?" I tried to concoct some sort of lie, but none came to mind. Damn, I messed up. They were both staring at me intently, expecting an answer. I couldn't possibly imagine telling them what I meant. It would ruin everything. I'm already being eaten alive of guilt from all that has been going on lately. " Well, uh, um…" I stammered, trying to stall. After a very long, awkward moment of silence, I had to change the subject. "So, Antonio, why are you here in the first place?"

It seemed to distract them enough. Lovino just ignored it afterward, and scooted away a few yards from Antonio and I. I didn't just ask him this question to change the subject, I was also curious, since he was supposed to be in his host country, Spain. A troublesome smile formed on his face, as he replied with a smirk. "Hmm, I'm glad you asked!" he said excitedly. "I was beginning to miss Lovino, and I knew that the short-tempered maid would love to see me again, so… here I am!" I glanced at Lovino, who was trying to listen into our conversation, and then argued, " I'm not your stupid maid!" I had to let out a small giggle, as he continued," and you know the real reason why you're here…" Now this got me interested.

"What? What's the real reason why your here?" I asked, staring at Antonio, with my huge curious eyes. "Were having a world conference, and its being held here in Italy," he said. I really wasn't that surprised. "Oh, okay. So it's just another meeting where you countries are just going to talk about your boring history, and lame battle plans, and eat scones all day…" " Hey! We do not eat scones!" Antonio and Lovino both said in unison. " Jeez, calm down, I was just messing with you," I said, smiling. " Yes, but its not just any conference," Antonio said, trying to pull me in with the suspense.

I just gave him a blank stare in return. " Oh, you mean you're going to add a book club this time?" I smirked, pulling at their leg. "What?! There is no way in hell that I would go to one of those things! They're stupid and boring!" yelled Lovino, obviously pissed now. Antonio gave me a stupid look. "No, it's not that. We will all be assigned a top secret mission, in witch we can't tell anyone!" He said triumphantly. Confused, I asked him, "But didn't you just tell me right now?"

Lovino also noticed this, and started yelling even more.

Antonio grew a look of guilt on his face, and all he could manage to mutter was a tiny "Ooops"

I sighed heavily, but with a smile on my face. " A secret mission, huh?" I gave them an extremely serious look, as they both stopped in what they were doing. " I want in!"

**~Ed's POV~**

Soon enough, with the fact that Winry and I were winded and sweaty enough, I knew that it was time to stop running. I looked up, and Al was about thirty feet ahead of us. "Wait! Al! Hold on!" I called out to him. He turned, and waved. "Oh, sorry brother," He apologized as he ran back towards us.

"Winry" I panted,"Winry and I need a little rest," I managed to mutter. I couldn't believe that we were still running away from Yuki, I hadn't even recognized where we stopped. I turned, and Winry had slipped away. Damn her! Always leaving me by myself! Well, with Al, anyway. "Hey Al, do you know where Winry went- Huh?" I was talking to emptiness, because he was gone too."Al! Where did you go! Alphonse! Alphonse!" I called out to him, panicking of what could have happened to him. How is this even possible? How could I lose a girl and a suit of armor that big?

"Brother, over here!" I heard his voice echo from beyond my view. I sprinted towards the sound of his voice, to find him standing, waving to me. I relaxed as I saw Al and Winry, on the grassy hill, looking at the clouds. "Isn't the view amazing?" he asked. Until then, I hadn't noticed the scenery. I thought we were in some sort of huge park, with a vast landscape. There were small rolling green hills, with the occasional tree, and further ahead, was a large forest. "Wow. What is this place?" I asked, enchanted by the view.

Winry answered my question. " If I remember, we should about half a mile from Mr. Jones' house, this is part of his property…" What! We're still in that idiot's property!" I exclaimed in rage, knowing that the crack-head is probably laughing his ass off right now… I kept yelling out words that probably aren't very appropriate to say, but as soon as I felt Winry's hand smack my face, it brought me back to reality.

"What do you think you're saying!? After all Mr. Jones helped us with, you decide to just insult him like that!" she yelled. I was slightly surprised by her anger, but then yelled back; "Well it's not like he's listening to us right now-" We were all astonished by what happened next. Al finally broke us up and yelled out, "You guys!" We both turned to see Al pointing to where we had arrived in the park. Winry and I slowly turned to where Al was pointing, and we saw Alfred looking at us from under a large oak tree, about ten yards away from us.

I could fell the heat rising to my face, as I knew he had obviously been watching us. Winry was the first to speak. "Mr. Jones, uh, what are you doing here?" She had a nervous tone in her voice. Alfred relaxed a bit as he took a few steps towards us. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," he said, looking at Winry and I. I blushed as I noticed how close she was to me, and realized what he was saying. Winry was blushing as well. "Uh, well…" I stammered. We both stepped away from each other immediately. "Well I came looking for you after Yuki told me what had happened..." he said. "Ahh!" We all jumped in fear to the sound of her name. "Wow, calm down," he said. "Its okay, I have a plan, if she has figured out that we lied to her, she's not going to stop until she knows what's up…" he said.

He suddenly stopped talking, as something caught his eye, and he was looking out into the dense forest. "What is it?" Winry asked. We were all looking out at the forest now, scanning for whatever Alfred was staring at. Then, there it was. There were two huge, gray eyes, staring at us from behind the trees. "Ed," Al said. "Wh-what is that?"

"I don't know…" Could it be a chimera? No, it seems different… Alfred stepped in front of us. " We should go back to the house, trust me, you wouldn't want to pick a fight with one of these things," he looked at me. "Lets go."

Al and I were looking back at the trees as we were walking back to Alfred's house. We were following the path, and we heard a terrifying low growl. It was loud and fierce, and sounded like an angry animal. We all turned to see a huge creature coming out of its hiding place from behind the trees. It looked like a huge wolf, four or five times bigger than a normal-sized wolf. It had its big gray eyes, and bared teeth that looked like they could smash through bricks without any effort at all. Winry let out a gasp. Alfred stepped in front of her and said, "Get back! Winry, go to the house and get some help!"

I watched her speed down the hill, as the three of us got ready to fight the wolf. Alfred was the first to approach it, and with his strength he lifted it into the air, and flung it away, and it landed in a pile of green grass. Al and I both ran to Alfred, as we were left to fight the thing.

**~Al's POV~**

There we were, Ed, Alfred and I, standing before the huge wolf creature, or whatever it was, ready to fight. Its big gray eyes glared down at me with anger, and for a strange reason, I recognized those eyes, they suddenly seemed familiar to me. I noticed Al and Alfred yelling at me, telling me to get out of the way. I looked around, and saw the wolf running at me. I jumped out of its way right in the nick of time, before it crashed into the huge sequoia tree behind me, causing hundreds of leaves and branches to fall to the ground.

It didn't seem to do any effect towards it at all. I ran to Ed and Alfred's side. "That crash didn't seem to hurt it!" I exclaimed. "Well then, were going to have to fight it until it is!" said Alfred. Ed and I both nodded in agreement, as he transmuted his arm into a small sword. Ed was the first one to act, and ran to the wolf, which was already charging at us, and began to hit it with his sword and transmutation elements. I followed his example and helped him with as many transmutation techniques I knew of. Soon the three of us were lashing out at the six-foot tall creature, and trying to dodge all of its razor-sharp claws and teeth.

It seemed to be taking turns with its attention on us, one at a time. By the time its attention was on me, I was barely able to avoid its attacks. I was trying to focus on it, but I was distracted by something standing on one of the many rolling hills, or it was just my imagination. That was my mistake. When I looked twice, there was obviously an opening, where the wolf's claws could tear me to shreds. I turned to back up, almost too late when I received a few scratches to my armor. I was about to back up some more, but I wasn't able to, because of a steep cliff, behind me. I was cornered. I heard Ed yelling, "Al!" I glanced at him, his face was sweaty, and his chest was moving up and down drastically because of his heavy breathing.

Coming to my rescue, Alfred sprinted in the general direction of the wolf, and tackled it to the ground, giving me time to escape the cornered area that I was in. Alfred stood up, he was panting as well. This was not good, Ed and Alfred were already getting tired, and the beast didn't seem fatigued at all.

I could do nothing but watch as said creature charged at Ed and smacked him with its claws and pinned him to the ground.

**~Ed's POV~**

I felt helpless under the weight of the giant wolf's paw, its gray eyes piercing my skin, as well as its claws. I looked up at it, seeing double; I heard Al and Alfred calling out to me. I felt more pressure coming from its paw, and I felt a couple of ribs crack under it. I was seeing flashes of black and white everywhere, my breathing was slow and heavy, and was feeling the whole right side of my face swell up. I thought, 'this is probably on of the worst situations I've been in…' Being crushed by an overgrown wolf pup—how amusing.

Apparently, I wasn't going to be crushed just yet. As soon as I saw the animal's ears go up, it started to look around; I knew it had heard something. I tried to listen for what it was being distracted by, but I couldn't hear anything. But then, there was something. It was very vague, but it was definitely there. It grew louder and turned into a whistle, unlike any other whistle I have heard. It was ghostly, and it was creeping me out the louder it got. The animal whined, looking back and forth from the woods, where the whistle came from, and Al, Alfred and I, as if deciding to follow the sound or to finish killing us. We heard the whistle again, and it looked down at me as it set me free from its claws, and growled at us. Then it turned around and ran towards the forest, and as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

**~Yuki's POV~**

Arthur and I sat in the bedroom beside the roaring fire. I looked out the window. The sun was beginning to make its way behind the green mountains, and the full moon slowly made its appearance in the starless sky. I began to think back to the events that have happened recently, trying to figure out Ed and Al's motive for lying to me like they did. I tried not to think it over too much, as I shifted uneasily in my seat and sipped my tea, attempting to look as calm as possible.

It was soon apparent that Arthur saw right through my act. "Are you okay, Yuki?" he asked with a worried look on his face. "You seem…tense."

"Oh, I'm fine, I was just thinking of all the paperwork that I have to complete," I chuckled nervously. I shuddered as the lie reminded me that I really do have loads of work to finish. 'Why must Alfred be so cruel?' I thought to myself, frowning into my cup of tea.

"Well, you shouldn't stress yourself too much with that broken ankle," said Arthur. I lifted my head to find him rising from his seat, and gathering his things. "But for now, it seems I must be on my way, its getting rather late,"

"But, its only—" I checked my watch. "Oh, nine forty-five…" I realized. I glanced at him as he slowly picked up the red-and white chess pieces, one by one. I stood as well, ready to say my good-byes to Arthur, when he said, "Yuki, has Alfred told you what you'll be doing tomorrow and the day after?"

I was puzzled by his question. "N-no, I don't recall him mentioning anything about it, why do you ask?'

Arthur hesitated to speak for a moment, as if not knowing whether he was allowed to tell me or not. Then he sighed heavily." Nothing, its just that there's going to be a world conference meeting tomorrow, and Alfred should be there."

"Oh, well Alfred usually goes to those meetings…"

"Yes, I know. However, we are changing things up a bit this time."

"Well, what changes will you be making?"

He spoke to me as he was walking out the door. "I've said too much already, but I'm sure you'll find out what's going on soon enough" He stopped at the door. "Yuki, just make sure you'll promise me one thing," I stared at him intently. He seemed to hesitate a little. "Stay alive, okay?"

I stood there, stunned. I stared at the spot where he was previously standing, as he walked down the stairs and around the corners of the big house, until I couldn't hear his heavy footsteps anymore.

After what I would guess two minutes, my brain finally caught up with most of the events that have been taking place in my life for the past three days. It was nearing ten o'clock now, not my usual late, but my eyelids felt like five-pound weights. I hopped over to my crutches on one foot, and crutched over to my bed. I slipped under the covers, and dozed off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

**I knew it was beautiful... (sob,sob)**

**yupppppp Ed's pretty stupid, ain't he? oh wel, nothin we can do about it... **

**I know its getting good, but you will have to bear the wait until the next chapter... im sorry...**

**see you soon!**


	4. Fear

**WARNING: **** This chapter requires SERIOUS BRAIN-THINKING AND PUZZLE-PIECING.  
some of you will not make it out alive...**

* * *

**yuki**

I dreamt I was dying.

I was standing on the edge of a cliff, the sound of roaring ocean waves crashing against the rocky side below. It was quite the strange place. There was ocean under my feet, desert to my left, a wide field of grass straight ahead, and a snowy forest to my right. Now I knew this was a nightmare. There are always thick, snowy forests in my nightmares. Something caught my eye a little towards where the edge of the cliff and trees meet. It looked like the silhouette of a woman… As she began to approach me, I began to notice all her features. She wasn't too tall. Well, she actually didn't look taller than around five feet; three inches (By the way, I'm right about 5'5", so there wasn't too big of a difference between our heights). She had long, deep brown hair, and was wearing a gorgeous snow-white gown the seemed to glimmer in the faint sunlight.  
She was truly beautiful. I began to shift my eyes towards her face as she came closer. I couldn't see much because of the hair in her face, and the 15-inch glimmering silver dagger in her left hand was constantly distracting me. And it was dripping with blood. It wasn't even red. It looked like a pale bluish- purple color. I felt my gag reflex get the best of my and cringed forward from the sight of it.

A soft breeze passed by, revealing her face. She had soft-looking skin, a long slender nose, and the most shocking crimson eyes I have seen. She had what seemed an angry look on her face as she drew her sword. The blue blood trickled down her arms , staining her dress sleeves. My eyes widened in fear. I watched in terror as she was now only a few feet away, staring straight at me with her fiery crimson-red eyes. Just then, I noticed that my red necklace was beginning to glow. And move, it was moving away from my neck, and towards the woman. It was almost like gravity decided to change its direction of force all of a sudden, and it was dragging the necklace away from me. The loop of the silver chain was slowly digging into the back of my neck, and it hurt, badly. I winced in pain. "AGH! W-what?" I was confused. The stone appeared to have a mind of its own, and it was struggling to be set free, like a dog on a leash. The woman now began to run at me with the sword in her hands, while yelling, "GIVE IT BACK!"

I could feel the pain of the pain of the metal chain against my neck, with a strange strength and overwhelming power. Great, I thought. Now I was going to be killed by 'America's Next Top Model' and her necklace. I felt a white hot pain in my chest, and felt myself being flung off the cliffside.

I woke screaming, and drenched in a cold sweat. I found myself gasping for air, suffocating under the thick bed sheets. I sat up and looked around, forgetting where I was for a second, and what I was doing here. But then I saw the almost empty room, and a huge window with lots of sunlight streaming in. _Right, I'm at Alfred's place._ I dug my face in my hands, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I then pathetically attempted to happily jump off the bed, like they do in the movies, but instead, what I got was my casted ankle getting caught in the covers and awkwardly falling to the floor. I then ended up dragging myself across the room…along with my bed sheets.

I somehow managed to untangle my legs from the sheets, and made my way to the nearest hall bathroom. Most of the bathrooms in Alfred's house were the same: cobalt blue walls, a white marble sink, toilet, and bathtub, and red towels hung on every hook in the room. "So patriotic," I mumbled before reaching over and turning the hot water nozzle, and then I waited until the tub filled itself. I took a look at myself in the mirror, and nearly jumped. I desperately needed a deep clean. My face was grimy, and I was all sweaty from the constant nightmares I've been having over the past 72 hours. And not to mention the fact that my hair looked like a bird's nest..

I looked down. My white cast was turning a dark brown color from all the dirt I've been in, and the skin around the edge of it was red and swollen from so many times that my nails were scratching and digging into it whenever it got itchy.

The tub was soon filled to the edge with steaming water. I quickly turned off the faucet and slipped out of my pajamas. I strangely dove into the water while trying to avoid my left ankle from touching the water. "Ahh," I sighed. The hot water felt amazing. I lay back in the tub, enjoying the steamy sauna I created in the bathroom.

After about a good 45 minutes of sauna-time, I got out and changed into a short-sleeved, lace lined white linen dress that Alfred had laid out for me. I gazed upon myself in the mirror before opening the door. If it wasn't for my damp, messy hair and dirty cast, I probably would've looked decent. I shuddered; the dress reminded me of the strange woman from my nightmare. I quickly left the bathroom on my crutches and went to my bedroom to find my wheelchair. (Yes, since I completely dislike the tiring exercise of having to crutch everywhere I go, I forced Alfred to also get me a wheelchair.) Once I was seated in the mobile chair, I wheeled out into the hallway of the enormous house. I decided to go exploring in the deep dark rooms and corners of the mansion.

**Alicia**

The car ride to the Feliciano's villa was rather uncomfortable. I squirmed and fidgeted in the back seat. How did I get here again? Oh yeah. Antonio and Lovino visited me, and Antonio had let out a little secret about their secret missions and world conference meeting. Once I heard this information, I insisted on accompanying them to their meeting and figure out more about the mission. At first, they refused, but after about an hour of giving them excuses, complaints, and a bit of violent torture, they seemed to have no problem with me coming along.

So anyway, the three of us, Lovino, Antonio and I were riding in the car, winding through many roads surrounded by thick, dense forest. I wasn't too sure about letting Antonio drive, though. The last time I was in a car with him driving, we broke the record for longest time driving on the wrong side of the road, and living. I still consider myself no to have suffered any trauma attacks during his reckless driving. I gazed out the window. This forest somehow reminded me of my home, it seemed so familiar. Soon, we took a right turn into a small winding road. Oh god, any more of this and I would be sick… The road eventually led into a small clearing in the middle of the forest, where the villa was. Feli's house was rather big, surrounded by lush, green bushes and colorful gardens. The outside was mostly white with cherry wood windowpanes and a rust orange colored roof. It seemed like a normal Italian villa, but as I stepped out of the car, I noticed that there were absolutely no other houses anywhere to be seen. Odd.

CRASH

I flinched as I heard several booming sounds and the sound of shattering glass. Amidst these sounds I also heard voices. One of them sounded like a girl screaming in Italian or a boy going through puberty. The other was very, very deep, and it bellowed something like: FELICIANO! in a thick German accent. And somewhere in there I heard a small, calm voice trying to calm the other two down. I looked at Antonio and Lovino, who looked annoyed and worried at the same time. Then Lovino said "Crap! That damn potato bastard!" And he took off sprinting toward the ruckus. "Oh, god," I grumbled as I turned back to Antonio. He said, "Man, I think this one's going to get ugly. Come on. We should go." For a second there I thought that he actually wanted to leave, but as soon as he started walking up the steps, my hopes were drowned. I groaned as I followed him up the steps. As we got closer, the screaming and crashing got louder, and I think at one point I heard a small explosion… Antonio annoyingly rang the doorbell about 10 times. I scowled at him as we waited for someone to open the door. Then it swung open.

Behind it, there was a man, looking about in his well early twenties, dressed in a tan Japanese kimono with a cooking spatula in his right hand. He seemed pretty short, only about 5 feet tall, but he was staring at me so intensely with his distant brown eyes, which were half hidden behind his messy black hair. He looked at me, then at Antonio, then said, "Well, hello Antonio, what a nice surprise," He forced a smile, obviously knowing that he would only be here if Lovino was as well. Speaking of the devil, I peeked over the door opener's head to find Lovino savagely wrestling with a blond haired, blue-eyed man. And he was losing. Badly. The blonde was holding Lovino in a headlock, and as he struggled to breathe, he was scrambling all over the place, and spitting out small, choked out sentences, like, "You freaking potato bastard!" and "I'm going to kill you and feed your corpse to the hounds!" and such… I turned back to Antonio, who was staring at me expectantly. "Huh?" I asked distractedly. " I _said _this gentleman's name is Kiku Honda," he said. "Oh, its very nice to meet you, I'm Alicia Vieri," I said as I shook his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Vieri," said Kiku. Kiku had an accent. My best guess based on his clothing, speech pattern, and appearance was that he came from Japan.

"Please, come in," Yup. He mixes up his l's with r's. There was even more chaos than I'd imagine in the house. Somewhere in one of the hallways I heard Lovino screaming and crying. _Wimp_. There was a very large archway in the entrance and intricate hallways behind an enormous spiral glass staircase, and at the top were the second floor and a huge glass dome. Then all of a sudden, my head started to throb. A lot. "Agh!" I cried, and I stumbled back, losing my balance. I would've fallen on my head if it weren't for Antonio there to catch me. "Are you alright Alicia?" he gave me a worried look. " I- I'm fine, I'm just a little light headed, that's all," I forced myself to stand up straight and pretended like I was fine. But I wasn't fine. I felt like I wanted to scream, cry, punch something really hard, and throw up all at the same time. Trust me, that is the worst feeling you will ever experience, ever. I shook my head, as if that would make all the bad feelings inside me go away. The three of us walked further into the house, and I noticed that the kitchen to my right was a disaster.

There was a very large counter top with a matching island in the center, and a boiling pot of pasta looked like it was about to explode. The big pot of pasta was shielding a small figure from my view. All I could see was a brown curl popping up from beyond the pot and bobbing everywhere. Kiku was trying to grab his attention. "Uh, Feli, we have visitors," he said. Suddenly, the curl stopped bobbing, and Feli ducked behind the counter. Kiku was desperately trying to get Feli out of his corner. "But Feli, Antonio is here-"

"ANTONIO!"

The brown-headed Feliciano came bounding from behind the counter and bear-hugged Antonio. "Haha!Feli, how are ya, kid?" he said as he gently patted his head. Feliciano clung onto the man like a sloth on a tree. But the Spaniard seemed to not mind at all. Kiku and I were watching awkwardly as we scooted away from the sloth scene. We eventually made our way to the foot of the staircase, where the blond haired man and Lovino seemed to be having a blast. During the time that we were gone, their situation got worse. Lovino now had a rapidly swelling black eye and a fountain of blood spurting from his nose and upper lip.

"STOP IT!"

I yelled at the top of my lungs. The house fell completely silent despite the sound of boiling pasta. Antonio and Feliciano looked up from their sloth hug and came over to see what was going on. Lovino took advantage of this pause and freed himself from the blonds grasp. "Get off me you damn bastard!"

We all shuffled around as I helped Lovino with his injuries and Antonio attended Feli's horribly failed attempt at making pasta. Since Feli wanted to eat nothing but pasta, he and Antonio started on another pot full of the stuff. With our pasta served, along with some salad and fresh garden tomatoes and a glass of water, we all began to make some conversation. Kiku sat in his seat, staring at the water swirl in his glass. He didn't look too hungry. And honestly, I'd lost my appetite too. I kept staring at him, but he didn't seem to notice. Suddenly, he sat up straight and looked me in the eye. "Oh, Alicia-kun, we haven't introduced you to Ludwig-san. But you know Feliciano already, right?" I nodded. That one blondie that Kiku called 'Ludwig-san' was sitting right in front of me, staring at his untouched plate with a serious look on his face.

I stared at him, waiting for the moment when his expression broke and he started laughing. But that moment never came. His icy blue eyes shifted to meet mine, and our stare was locked. I actually noticed that he was pretty handsome if it wasn't for that pained expression. We kind of had a small staring contest that lasted a few minutes, and then Kiku began to feel very awkward. "Um, hello? Are you alright, Alicia-san, Ludwig-san?" Kiku's statement finally broke our staring contest. Ludwig looked down, as if he were ashamed of what he just did. I was the first to break the silence. "Hi, I'm Alicia Vieri. It's nice to meet you." I reached out my hand as I introduced myself.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking whether or not to reveal himself to me. Then he said, in his German accent, "I am Ludwig Weillshmidt," he said as he took my hand with an inhumanly iron grip. I flinched as he finally let it go, and cradled my bulging left hand with my right, then swiftly hiding it behind my chair. Lucky for me no one noticed. The table was silent, and all I could hear was the sound of Feli's fork clattering on an empty plate and a satisfied look on his face. Then there was the sound of screeching chair legs on the floor. I turned to my right to find Antonio standing on his chair with his left foot resting on the table.

"GET YOUR DIRTY SHOES OFF THE TABLE!" Ludwig bellowed.

Antonio didn't even flinch. He waited until we all grew uneasy, then said, "Let's go!" then he turned around, grabbed Lovino by the hood and dragged him out the door.

"W-Where is he going?" asked Kiku, obviously confused and annoyed.

_Something is wrong with that man_, I thought to myself as I shook my head in disappointment. "Uh, anyway, Alicia-kun, you will be staying in our guest room tonight. We will be leaving tomorrow, so be prepared," said Kiku. "Would you like me to show you around?" I nodded. "Sure." Then I followed him into the deep winding hallways of the Italian villa.

**Edward **

My memories surround me like a roll of film, playing over and over again. All of my memories,the good and the bad. I was mesmerized by all of the images, and it was kind of scary. By the time it had stopped, it left by head spinning. The film disappeared, and what I saw beyond it made my jaw drop. Looming ominously over me was the all too familiar gate. The etched foreign symbols faintly glowed against the cracked wood.

I stiffened as the doors began to creak open. Chills ran all over my body. The gate was fully open now. It seemed pitch black inside. Of course I had to be wrong. Hundreds of pairs of eyes and creepy smiles popped up out of the darkness. I yelled and fell back on my butt as shadowy hands reached out, grabbing and clawing at my body. "No! Wait!" I yelped, in some sense hoping that they would actually stop and retreat into the darkness.

_No,_ their voices echoed. _We will pull your body and soul into eternal darkness, forever. Trapped for eternity, just like us._ Together, their voices sounded as one, childlike and evil. _You will not live another day, Edward Elric! Not another day! You do not belong in the land of the living! You belong here, with us!_

I freaked as they started to claw and bite at my left arm and right leg. The pain was excruciating. It felt like a thousand knives being driven cleanly through your flesh repeatedly. "NOOO!"

"Ed? Edward? Are you still alive? Come back to me! Don't go into the light!" A murky voice brought my consciousness back to me. My eyelids felt as heavy as weights, but I forced them open. Alfred turned out to be my American wake up call. "A-Alfred?" I mumbled. His eyes were wide open, staring at me curiously as if I were some foreign species. Then he said, "Those scars are badass, dude, and so is your metal arm…"

"What?" I looked down to find that I wasn't wearing a shirt. "Ahh! Why don't I have clothes on?!" Al jumped out of his seat. "Edward! You finally came to!" He purposely got in Alfred's way so that he would stop bothering me. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked, worriedly. I still felt groggy and shaky from my nightmare, and worse, terrible soreness all over my body. Then all the memories came rushing back to me.

I remembered the forest, the huge wolf thingy. Giant paws… "W-Where am I?" I asked. "You're in the east wing of the third floor of my house, to be specific," said Alfred. "We didn't really have time to take you to a hospital, and we could barely move you, with such severe internal damage that you took,"

"Internal damage..?" I echoed. I attempted to sit up, yet immediately cringed at the sharp pain in my rib cage and torso. Alfred rushed to my side to catch me and lay me back down. "Whoa there little fella, you can't go anywhere just yet. You have at least six rib fractures and in extreme danger of puncturing several internal organs. Oh yea, and you also have a minor concussion" "Well, thank you for the medical update," I said with sarcasm in my voice. "You're very welcome, Ed." He said with a smile on his face. Apparently, he doesn't understand sarcasm… I groaned and rubbed my eyes like a child. "Where's Winry?" I said, barely noticing she was in the room "Is she safe?" I was actually slightly surprised that she wasn't here. She would typically be all over me as soon as I woke up, or fidgeting in her seat while mumbling curse words under her breath whenever I did something reckless.

"She stepped outside for a while," Said Alphonse. "Saying that she needed to think things over a bit." "Oh, alright then." I replied. "She was worried that you wouldn't wake up, Ed." Alfred grew a serious look on his face. "After all, you _were _knocked out for three straight days…" He added. "What?! Three whole days?!"

"Yea, Yuki and Winry have stopped by often, and they brought you that." He pointed at the nightstand to my left. I turned and saw a small box, wrapped neatly and sitting next to a small vase of flowers. "They sent me _flowers_?" I whined. "Hey, it's the thought that counts, right?" said Al. "Yea, I guess so," I said doubtfully. I snatched the small present anyway and ripped the paper to shreds. Inside was a wrench, a few bolts and screws, and a note. _Of course Winry would do something like this…_ I thought to myself.

I sighed as I read the note.

It said:

Here are the parts for your arm. Nice going, you idiot…you broke it again! This time you're gonna have to do it yourself! Have fun!

P.S. Yuki was the one who thought of the flowers!

_Yea, I guess that would make sense… _

"Well, it looks like I won't be staying here for much longer," Alfred said as he stretched in his chair. "What? How come?" Al asked curiously. "Because I have a world conference to attend to." He replied. "Really? About what?" I asked. "Sorry man, that nfo is classified."

"Can you take us with you?" Al asked.

I sighed. "Al, don't be ridic-"

"OF COURSE I CAN TAKE YOU!"

"W-Wha?!"

"Did you honestly believe that I, the hero, would not be able to take a few friends on a simple top-secret-classified-conference?"

"Um, I don't think you're allowed to-"

"Of course I'm allowed to! I'm Alfred Jones! I'm allowed to do everything! Haha!"

"WILL YOU STOP INTERUPTING ME! Look, I don't think you should, even if you're allowed to. Seriously man, yo have to find a way to stop these random outbursts of confidence…" I murmured under my breath.

"What was that?" He said.

"Nothing…"

**Yuki **

One day I was getting lost in the deep unknown recesses of Alfred Jones' house, and the next, I was looking out the window of a first class seat of American Airlines. I was with our little 'group', which consisted of Alfred, Edward, Alphonse, Winry, and me. "Please, tell me again how I got here?" I asked Alphonse, who was sitting next to me. "Well, Alfred kept ranting on about how he wanted you to come because he was worried about your safety and whatnot… and I think at one point he started dragging you out the door…" He said.

"Oh, right…" I mumbled. "Hey, don't take it so negatively. At least you get to meet new people," suggested Winry. "I hope so.." I said, as I stared out the window. I soon fell asleep, dreaming of the events that have happened to me in the past few days.

I woke up probably a good four hours later, and turned to see everyone asleep, except for Al. "Hey," I said. "Oh, hi." He replied. He seemed to be troubled about something. "Is everything….okay?" I asked. "Hmm?" he turned. "Oh I'm fine, I was just thinking about what's going to happen to us, me and Ed. I mean, we've been through so much together, but I don't know what we're gonna do about…_this_." He gestured to his armored body. He looked down and sighed, and he truly seemed melancholy. "Alphonse, I—" Suddenly, a man's voice interrupted me through the intercom. "Attention passengers, we will soon be arriving in Moscow Russia, so please fasten your seatbelts."

"R-Russia?" I said. Aww man. I seriously packed my bags full of warm weather clothes because I thought we were going someplace warmer for sure! Ugh, I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I demanded Alfred to tell me where we were going!? The only warm item of clothing I packed was an old pair of sweats and a huge sweatshirt! Shit! What am I going to do now?! I glared at Alfred in his sleep. "WAKE UP!"

He immediately jumped out of his seat, waking everyone else as well. Alfred looked at me, then outside, and said through his yawn, "Oh, we're here." ":Why didn't you tell us where we were going?!" I yelled.

"Oh, that's right Alfred, you never told us where we were going—" Ed stopped talking as soon as he looked out the window. "Where are we?!" Some sort of wasteland!" he screamed. Alfred seemed stunned, and slightly hurt. "Well, I thought it would be a nice surprise, you know, I mean, Russia isn't exactly a wasteland… and I wouldn't want to be saying the word "wasteland" when we get to _his_ house…" His voice quivered slightly, then he looked over his shoulder, as if someone were watching us. Well, who the hell could Alfred be afraid of out here, Santa Clause? And besides, this place can't be _that _bad, right?

The airport was quite busy, probably because it was a week from Christmas, in Russia, so this would normally be what you'd expect, right? Despite the crowds, we managed to make our way through the buildings quite easily, I mean, who could blame them… seeing a girl in a wheelchair and a boy with a broken ribcage traveling with an obnoxious blond man and a seven-foot-tall suit of armor, who _wouldn't_ want to avoid us?

After we exited the airport, we took a cab to some place that Alfred said we were gonna meet everyone, hence, where the conference was taking place. And the whole ride there, I was hoping that there wouldn't be a demonic Santa waiting for us…

* * *

**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**well i think we all know who that demonic santa is... am i right?**

**soo yeah i think this one was pretty good, despite its non-progression in the story plot... but there sure will be more shtuff coming up y'all, so be on the lookout!**


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